Using weakened hand may help recovery

November 15, 2006

A stroke often robs people of the full use of one of their hands, but a study published in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests therapy that restricts movement of the hand unaffected by the stroke may help patients regain lost abilities. Two hundred twenty-two people who had partial paralysis of one hand three to nine months after having had a stroke were randomly assigned to receive therapy that involved restraining their "good" hand every day for two weeks or to receive conventional care. People who had a hand restrained also participated in therapy sessions six hours a day for five days a week and were encouraged to continue practicing at home after the restraint was no longer used. A year later, both groups showed improvement, but those in the restraint therapy group could do nearly three times as many tasks with the hand that had been affected by the stroke. It also took them about a third less time than the others to complete tasks.